


Green eyes and pink lipstick

by Gwendolyn_2412



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:53:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwendolyn_2412/pseuds/Gwendolyn_2412
Summary: When Kara meets Lena it's life changing. She just can't stop thinking about the CEO, but how can she expect anything to happen between a Luthor and a Super? An alternative re-write of season 2 with a Supercorp endgame. Updates will be roughly every 3 weeks.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Supergirl fic. Any comments are welcome. Updates will be every 3 weeks or so. This story will be roughly canon up to season 2 episode 8 although I'm not sure if I'm including Mon-el yet. Thanks for reading.

Intelligent green eyes and full lips covered with perfectly applied, dark pink lipstick. Kara’s chaotic thoughts kept coming back to rest on those two things. Those two beautiful things. Except, she reminded herself, she shouldn’t find them beautiful. She stared down into the cup of cold, murky liquid clasped in her hands that had once resembled a drinkable coffee. James and her, their relationship, if you could call it that, was supposed to be developing. She was supposed to be excited about going out on an actual date with him, hopefully this time one uninterrupted by Supergirl-type scenarios. She was most definitely not supposed to be suddenly enraptured by a woman she had only met for less than 5 minutes. 

When she had gone with Clark to interview Lena Luthor after the Venture explosion, she hadn’t known what to expect from the sister of the infamous Lex Luthor. The reputation of the Luthor family alone was probably enough to put anyone off Lena. Kara however, liked to believe there was good in everyone until proven wrong. The CEO of Luthor Corp seemed to genuinely be trying to make a new name for herself outside of the Luthor legacy and had appeared to be telling the truth about why she hadn’t been on board the Ventures’ ill-fated maiden voyage. Kara had known from Clarks’ demeanour as they had left Lena’s office that he was still suspicious of the raven-haired woman but she just couldn’t bring herself to judge Lena prematurely.

“Hello? Earth to Kara.” A hand waved in front of her face, tearing her thoughts away from green eyes and pink lipstick. Alex was stood before her in the kitchen of Kara’s apartment, a bemused expression playing with her facial features. 

“You haven’t been listening to a single word I’ve said, have you?” Alex asked, crossing her arms as she watched her blonde sibling closely.

“Errrr...,” Kara paused and then laughed when she met Alex’s gaze, knowing the game was up. She placed her now redundant mug of coffee on the counter and held her hands up in surrender, “I’m sorry, I guess I zoned out for a second, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that the device that triggered the explosion on the Venture was located under seat 23B, the seat that was supposed to be taken by Lena Luthor. It looks like she was the intended target, not the one behind the explosion, like we originally thought.” Alex moved to Kara’s sofa as she spoke, motioning for her sister to join her. 

The blonde nestled into the opposite side of the seat, looking thoughtful as she considered this new information. It appeared that Lena’s word could be trusted after all. The entrepreneur seemed to be doing exactly as she had said, simply trying to give herself a fresh start and use her company as a force for good. Kara couldn’t stop the small smile that forced the edges of her lips to curl upward at the thought of Lena. Oh Rao, she thought with an almost imperceptible shake of her head. What was happening to her? She willed herself to focus on Alex, trying to derail her one-track mind.

“We’re missing something, I just can’t figure out what it is.” Alex said, frustration evident in her voice.

“Don’t worry we’ll get there. Whichever piece of the puzzle we’re missing will fall into place eventually.”

“Yeah, I guess…” The red-head sighed, then leaned forward to place a hand on Kara’s knee, “But enough about work. How are things with James?”

“They’re good. Great, even.” Kara replied quickly, with a big smile. A smile that she knew would have fooled most people. Alex Danvers however, was not most people.  
Alex eyed Kara suspiciously, keeping her eyes narrowed until the Superhero started to squirm under the pressure of her gaze.

“Ok, so things might not be all that good,” Kara admitted, staring down at her hands. “I just...I was so sure that he was what I wanted, you know? I had all these plans for the perfect date. Then the Venture exploded and we didn’t get to finish our evening because once again I had to be Supergirl,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration before continuing, “I spoke to Clark about his relationship with Lois and it just seems so perfect. He juggles being a great boyfriend, being Superman and being Clark Kent so well, and dammit Alex, I want to be able to do that!”

Alex smiled and took Kara’s hands in her own, pulling them into her lap and squeezing them reassuringly. “There’s no reason why you can’t. You just need to take some time to figure things out.”

“Clark said that it’s just as important to be Kara as it is to be Supergirl. Only, I don’t really know who Kara even is…and do you know the worst bit?” She asked dejectedly but didn’t wait for a response, “When my evening with James got ruined, I don’t even think I was that bothered …I just don’t know if James is what I want anymore.” The words seemed very final as they left her mouth to float into the empty space of her apartment. They hung heavily in the air almost as if they were daring someone to break the silence. 

Alex cleared her throat. If she was at all surprised by Kara’s words, a bystander would never have guessed from her expressionless face. “If you don’t feel the same way anymore just tell him. Even if you aren’t sure how to be Kara or exactly what the Kara part of you wants in life, if you’re not sure you want to be with James then you need to be honest with him about it.” 

Kara nodded, only briefly allowing herself to picture eyes greener than a St Patricks’ Day parade. Her stomach twisted with guilt over the thoughts about Lena that remained unspoken. She hated keeping things from Alex. They’d always told each other everything, first crushes, first kisses, first break ups but she just couldn’t allow the words to slip from her lips while everything was still so uncertain in her head. Or could she?

“Alex, I think I…” Kara paused for a fraction of a second then stood up suddenly, her sentence trailing off. “I need to go.”

She sprinted for the window, pulling apart her shirt as she ran, to reveal the Super-suit beneath. She flew quickly across the skyline to the danger she had sensed from her apartment.

“Hold on, Lena.”

//

Lena Luthor stared in shock at the two military-grade drones hovering in front of her helicopter. There was no way for her to protect herself from the danger they posed. She was completely powerless over the situation and if there was one thing Lena hated, it was not being in control of everything around her. The CEO was always so poised and prepared for every possibility when it came to board room meetings, enticing prospective business clients and dealing with the media. At this moment, her fate rested not on her charming smile and quick wit but on the whim of a, she assumed, mentally unstable individual who had access to some serious weaponry. Boy did she really hate flying.

At the sound of gunfire, she instinctively closed her eyes, keeping them tightly closed as she awaited the sensation of the helicopter falling from the air. Except, the feeling never came. After a few moments, she opened her eyes to be met with the sight of Supergirl and Superman blocking the helicopter from the drones’ onslaught. She watched as, after a brief conversation between the two caped aliens, Superman flew away, leaving just Supergirl to protect her. 

This was Lena’s first opportunity to observe Supergirl in action and she was struck by how petite the superhero was close up. She looked on as the blonde hero used a beam of energy to destroy one of the drones and Lena felt momentarily elated until the remaining drone fired a missile. She watched in horror as it connected with the caped heroines’ chest, knocking her from the sky to collide with the tarmac of the helipad, the impact cracking the once smooth surface.

The drone opened fire and Lena felt the helicopter shake as it was hit. Smoke started billowing from behind the cockpit and she screamed, then immediately chastised herself for being such a damsel in distress. She was a Luthor, God dammit and Luthors’ didn’t scream. Her eyes locked on to the drone as she tried to slow her frantic heartbeat; panicking wasn’t going to help her right now.

Luckily, Supergirl had quickly recovered from her brief interlude with the concrete and smashed straight through the flying device, scattering twisted pieces of metal in every direction. Lena felt the superhero gently lower the damaged helicopter to what remained of her helipad and a second later the door opened allowing her to come face to face with her saviour. 

“You’re safe now.” Supergirl said, flicking her eyes over Lena, before reaching out to tend to the unconscious pilot. 

“What the hell was that?” Lena snapped, the reality of how close she had just come to dying sinking in now she was safely on the ground and had more than enough time to panic.

“Someone’s trying to kill you.” 

The words stunned Lena into silence. She should have expected that her family name would have made her public enemy number one but the news was still hard to take. She was trying to start again and turn LuthorCorp around, why couldn’t everyone see that?

Lena looked to Supergirl, who smiled at her, a warmth present in her deep blue eyes that she hadn’t seen from another person in a long time. 

“It’s ok,” Supergirl said softly, “I’ll protect you.”

//

CatCo Worldwide Media was a hive of activity, everyone moving quickly across the workspace as the deadline for submissions approached. The only person who stood still was Kara, a silent observer amongst the throng of people. She was waiting to speak to James, looking for the perfect opportunity but each minute that passed only served to make her more nervous. She’d decided to invite him over and explain how she felt, or rather to explain how she didn’t know exactly how she felt anymore. Kara hoped that maybe she could salvage their friendship in the process. Finally, she spotted her chance as he walked across the bustling room alone. She jogged after him, zipping between the desks until she caught up.

“James.” 

“Oh, hey.” said James, only slightly startled by her sudden appearance at his side as she dropped into step beside him.

“Listen, I was thinking. Do you fancy coming over? We could get Italian? I’ll fly there and-”

“Kara…,” he sighed and stopped walking, turning to face her. He rubbed a hand across his forehead tiredly before continuing, “Stop. Just admit that something’s changed for you.”

“I…” she started, not really sure what she was about to say. She hadn’t wanted to do this here in the middle of their workplace, surrounded by people.

“Don’t try to tell me I’m imagining it, Kara. I thought you wanted this.”

“I did!” she said, perhaps a little too forcefully. It was important to her though, that he understood she hadn’t meant to hurt him. She hadn’t meant to become so confused over everything.

“But you don’t now?” His eyes sought hers, seeking the truth.

“I…I don’t know”

“Well at least you’re being honest.” He said sadly and walked away from her. She watched him go and felt a weight settle in her chest. That hadn’t exactly gone to plan. 

Even several hours later, as she lay in bed she couldn’t stop replaying the sad look she had seen on his face over and over in her mind. That is, until sleep finally claimed her and her thoughts drifted into realms occupied by emerald green eyes and pink lipstick.


	2. Chapter 2

Kara stood in the lobby of Luthor Corp, waiting impatiently for what appeared to be the slowest lift in the world. The illuminated call button taunted her and she jabbed at it again, pressing several times in quick succession, much to the amusement of several other people stood near her. She was on her way to see Lena Luthor and to say it was unnerving her was quite the understatement. It had only been a day since she had first met the business woman, twenty-four turbulent hours and it already seemed as though she’d started down a road that would change her life forever. Her mind conjured up the image of James walking away and her stomach twisted with guilt. She really hadn’t meant to hurt him and she cared for him deeply, but there was just something about Lena she found fascinating and she knew that whatever it was, it was something she had to pursue. Focus Kara, she reminded herself and tried to pull herself back to the task at hand. She couldn’t allow herself to think about it right now, she had a job to do.

Given the D.E.O’s acceptance that Lena was the intended target of the Venture explosion, not the mastermind of it, they wanted to limit the opportunities for another attack. They had all realised that the Luthor Corp renaming ceremony carried a high risk of danger for Lena. Therefore, the current plan was for someone to try and talk her out of going ahead with the ceremony. Clark had been the natural choice, given he could use his reporting job to feign interest in the possibility of another shoot-out. Strangely though, when it had been suggested, he had seemed disinterested in the task and instead had volunteered Kara in his place. Not that she had minded, of course.

Karas’ phone buzzed as the lift finally arrived and she scooped it out of her pocket, stepping inside the carriage. It was a text from Winn informing her that they had pulled a partial fingerprint from the wreckage of one of the drones that attacked Lena. A man named John Corben, an assassin for hire was now their current main suspect. Attached, was a photograph of a sandy haired man with a hard face that was all angles. She fired off a quick reply, thanking Winn for the update and put her phone away, exiting the lift at the floor that housed Lena’s office. 

The space that served as the antechamber to the CEO’s office was a large open plan room with only one desk guarding the threshold. It was currently occupied by Lena’s assistant, Jess, who looked up as Kara approached and waved her through when she asked to see Lena. She swallowed nervously before entering the office, wiping her suddenly sweaty palms on her navy trousers before forcing herself to continue walking. 

Lena Luthor sat at her desk, carefully scrutinizing some papers in her hand. The red top she had worn yesterday had been replaced by a teal one that Kara just knew would emphasis those deep green eyes she’d spent most of last night picturing. Her black hair was loose around her shoulders, framing her pale features in a stark monochrome contrast. Kara watched Lena frown at something on the page and then look up, her features relaxing into a warm smile when she saw the blonde standing awkwardly by the door.

“Miss Danvers,” She greeted, rising from her chair as she spoke, to collect a cream trench coat from the rack opposite her desk, “Two visits in as many days. Has something else exploded that you want to blame me for?” Green eyes, full of mischief met Kara’s and the corners of pink covered lips twitched with the effort of fighting to suppress a smile.

Kara laughed, “Not that I know about, Miss Luthor. Unless you want to confess to something?”

“Nothing springs to mind,” Lena said, laughing lightly. She shimmied gracefully into her coat and gestured towards the door, “Do you mind if we walk and talk? I have to get to the ceremony downstairs.”

“No, of course not.” Kara gestured towards the door, signaling for Lena to proceed. She followed the raven-haired woman out of her office, nodding at Jess as she passed.

They waited in companionable silence for the lift, that of course arrived much more quickly for the C.E.O. than it had for Kara in the lobby. Typical, she thought to herself amusedly. Once they were both inside the carriage and the doors had slid silently closed, Lena turned to face Kara, leaning towards her conspiratorially. 

“So, Miss Danvers, if you aren’t here to question me about something, what exactly did you come here for?” 

“I, um…,” Kara began hesitantly, her mind going blank as the proximity of the other woman derailed her planned conversation. Lenas’ delicate, no doubt excruciatingly expensive, floral perfume seeped over her and much to Kara’s distress, it was impossibly enticing, throwing the young blonde completely off guard. 

“Er…well it’s not important really, I just…heard about the incident in the helicopter yesterday and thought I’d drop by to see how you were.” Kara breathed a small sigh of relief to herself, she’d said words, words that somehow had managed to form a coherent sentence.

Surprise fluttered briefly over the CEOs features. Lena couldn’t remember the last time anyone had shown any interest in her wellbeing and yet here was a woman she had only met once before, showing genuine concern for her. The way Kara was looking at her, a friendly warmth shining in bright blue eyes, was vaguely familiar, but like the rapidly evaporating memory of a dream upon waking, whatever those eyes reminded her of evaded her conscious mind.

“That’s very kind of you.” She said softly, flicking her gaze away from the intensity of the blondes’.

“Yes, well…” Kara mumbled and fiddled with her glasses, feeling her cheeks start to burn with embarrassment. She prayed to Rao that they weren’t as red as they felt, or at the very least that her foundation masked most of it. Luckily the lift arrived at the ground floor, saving her from any further opportunity to add to her awkwardness. 

Kara followed Lena across the lobby and outside into the crisp sunny day. How the woman moved so fast in those black heels she did not know and she found herself performing a slight jog to catch up.

“Aren’t you worried about what might happen today?” she asked, falling into step with the CEO, “Someone has tried to kill you twice already.”

Lena glanced sideward and inclined her head in affirmation. “I would be a fool if I wasn’t worried,” she stated matter-of-factly, “but if I give up, they win…and quite honestly, that to me is far more worrying. I can use this company to benefit so many people, Miss Danvers. I need to put right what my family has done wrong and this ceremony is how I start that process. Besides, with this countries heart disease rate, statistically speaking I’m much more likely to get up there and have a coronary, than be murdered.” 

The mischievous smile was back and Kara couldn’t help but smile too. There was just something about Lena Luthor. She gave out this aura of invulnerability that was definitely fascinating to be around. It was obviously one of the aspects of her personality that had made her so successful in a board room. Impressive though it was, Kara knew it was a carefully constructed front, or rather Supergirl knew. Kara remembered the fear that had been present in the CEO’s eyes in the helicopter cockpit after it had almost been shot down. That had been a rare glimpse of the Lena that lurked beneath the mask and Kara had found it just as fascinating as strong, nothing-can-stop-me Lena.

“You’re not going to change your mind whatever I say, are you?” Kara asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Probably not.” Lena replied with a teasing smile.

They approached the grassy area of the small park across the road from Luthor Corp, stopping near the section that was marked out for the ceremony. A few people were gathered around the podium, waiting for Lena.

“My brother is serving thirty-two consecutive life sentences, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the low turnout.” Lena chuckled mirthlessly, more to herself than Kara.

“It’s not too late to call it off,” Kara reminded her, with one last attempt at dissuading the raven-haired woman, “You’re taking such a big risk by getting up there. Why aren’t you afraid that your life is in danger?”

“As far as I’m concerned, Miss Danvers, I won’t have a life if I don’t go ahead with the renaming ceremony. Like I said, I need to separate this company from the Luthor legacy and make it into something positive. Otherwise, all I’ll be known for is Lex’s madness and that’s something I just can’t abide.”

Kara nodded in resignation at her failure to stop the ceremony and watched as Lena took center stage at the podium. Her presence commanded the attention of the admittedly rather low number of people that were gathered around to watch the renaming ceremony. Confidence oozed from every pore as the C.E.O. spoke about rebranding the company and turning it into a positive force for National City. The blonde couldn’t help but be captivated. It took some effort but she managed to tear her eyes from Lena long enough to perform a quick sweep of her surroundings. Alex was stood off to the side of the stage area and she saw J’onn further back near a water feature. Her heart clenched when she noticed James making his way down some steps. Of course, he would come to the ceremony, she told herself, it was newsworthy and it was a good photo opportunity. They hadn’t spoken since they’d called off their almost relationship and Kara missed talking to him. It was true, she didn’t want a romantic relationship with him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want him in her life at all.

Even though she had been expecting something bad to happen, Kara still jumped in shock when two explosions erupted behind Lena. Everything quickly descended into chaos. People ran in sporadic directions, screaming in the desperate scramble to find loved ones and flee. Ducking behind a tree, Kara quickly transformed into Supergirl and rushed to help. 

A large piece of concrete fell from the structure of Luthor Corp on a collision course with James. Kara dodged in front of him, taking the brunt of the impact.

“Go!” she shouted. He didn’t need telling twice. He helped another girl who had fallen get up and they both ran to safety. Kara spun round, trying to find Lena but she couldn’t see her. There was too much smoke and too many obstacles in her way. She couldn’t see Alex either but experience had proven time and time again that Alex could handle herself.  
A grating sound came from Luthor Corp and Kara noticed cracks appearing in the buildings frame. It was also starting to lean forward, as if it were about to collapse. She flew up to one of the walls, pushing desperately in a bid to stop the building from crushing innocent bystanders. A few moments later Clark joined her.

“Took you long enough!” Kara said, grunting in effort while she pushed at the crumbling wall.

“Traffic was horrendous.”

She rolled her eyes and pressed one hand to her earpiece that connected her to the D.E.O.

“Winn, a little help?”

His voice came through crisp and clear.

“Corben took down the southwest retaining column, just like Luke in A New Hope, he knew exactly where to fire his shot.”

“I don’t need a Star Wars refence right now Winn, I need a plan.”

“Kara,” J’onns voice cut in, “You need to repair the column. If you do that, the building should hold.”

“How am I supposed to do that? I don’t have anything to…” She trailed off as she spotted some steel girders down below. She glanced at Clark, silently questioning and he nodded.  
“Go Kara, I’ve got this.” He pressed hard against the wall of Luthor Corp, redoubling his efforts to keep the building from falling forward.

She sped down and collected the girders. It didn’t take long to fix the column using her superspeed and heat vision to weld the girders in place. Finally, the building stopped groaning and creaking and she let out her breath in a shaky exhale. 

She wasn’t able to relax for long though, as she spotted Alex fighting with a figure that looked like Corben. Flying speedily, she landed nearby as the assassin for hire grabbed Alex in an attempt to hold her hostage. He pressed a gun to her head and Kara felt her heartrate increase threefold. 

“Let her go, Corben.” She shouted over the pandemonium of their surroundings.

“No,” he smirked, “you’re going to let me out of here now or I’ll kill her.” His voice was calm and collected, ever the cold-blooded killer. Kara edged closer, would she make it to Alex before he could pull the trigger? Probably not. She needed to keep him talking, distraction was key. 

“Did Lex Luthor hire you to kill his sister?” she asked, taking another small step.

“The power of the Luthor family is far-reaching, even from behind bars Lex has many resources at his disposal. Incarceration isn’t enough to stop him. Now, I’m going to leave and there isn’t anything you can-”

His words were cut short by a sound of a gunshot and it took Kara a second to realise that someone had shot him. He fell to the floor, surprise plastered over his features and Kara looked behind him to see Lena standing perfectly still, gun in hand with an unreadable expression on her face.

Alex sprang into action, her medical training taking over as she knelt beside Corben, her hands pressing on his exit wound.

“The bullet went right through, he might make it but he’s going to need a hospital. Good job, Supergirl.”

“I had help.” She replied, her eyes still on Lena who hadn’t moved.

//

Alex twirled the corkscrew deftly in her fingers before twisting it into the cork of a bottle of red wine. Kara held out her glass patiently and Alex poured them both a generous measure before leaving the bottle on the counter and making her way over to the sofa.

“What a day.” Alex said, relaxing back into the chair.

“I know right, it was crazy.” Kara joined her sister and brought her legs up off the floor, tucking them underneath her.

“I can’t believe Corben is dead. It kinda felt like he was going to pose more of a problem than he did.”

Kara chuckled, “Well I for one, am glad he wasn’t a bigger problem. He almost shot you!”

“But he didn’t,” Alex reminded her gently, trying to derail the protective you should have been more careful rant that she could feel coming her way.

“I guess.” Kara said, in reluctant acceptance.

“I still can’t believe Lena was the one who shot him,” Alex shook her head in disbelief and took a sip of her wine, “I didn’t think she had it in her.”

“I don’t know Alex, she’s pretty feisty. I kinda get the feeling that she can deal with anything that gets in her way. I mean she’s just so determined to succeed, you only have to look at everything she’s accomplished in her life to see she literally doesn’t let anything stop her. Did you know she graduated from MIT top of her class? She’s like a certified genius and her company is on the Fortune 500 list and…” She trailed off and took a big mouthful of wine, suddenly aware that Alex was looking at her like she’d gone mad.

“Oh my God,” Alex said slowly, “You like her.”

Kara, mid-swallow, promptly choked.

“What? No. No, I don’t.” She managed to splutter mid-cough.

“She’s Lex Luthors’ sister. You can’t be friends with her,” Alex insisted, “Just because somebody tried to have her killed a few times, doesn’t mean you can trust her. She’s still a Luthor.”

“I’m not friends with her,” Kara replied evenly, once she had finished coughing the rest of the wine out of her lungs. “I just think she really does want to do good in the world. I genuinely believe she doesn’t want to be associated with what Lex did.”

“Kara, I know you really want to see the good in everyone but I think you need to remember that her last name is Luthor. You need to stay away from her.”

“I know what her last name is.” Kara said, avoiding Alex’s gaze, especially glad that her sister had no idea exactly how much that particular Luthor had been on her mind.

//

The newspaper head-line she was reading filled Lena with hope. After the events of yesterday, she had felt quite shaken up; it wasn’t every day you got shot at, although she had to admit since moving to national city it was happening more frequently than she liked. The headline read ‘New day at L Corp’ and honestly, she couldn’t really have hoped for better press. She glanced up at Clark Kent and Kara Danvers who were standing in her office, waiting for her response to the article.

“Thank you for writing this, Mr Kent. It is excellent press for my company and I should especially thank you for including the part where I shot the bad guy. Perhaps people will think twice about trying to kill me in future and I’m sure Lex will be the laughing stock of maximum security.” Lena laughed quietly and folded the paper in half, rising out of her chair to move closer to where the pair were stood.

“I didn’t write it for that,” Clark said, “I wrote it because it was the truth. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I was wrong about you and for that I’m sorry.” 

Lena nodded in acknowledgement of his apology, “Yes well, I appreciate it regardless and if I can make a believer out of Clark Kent, I think that’s a pretty good start on my path to rebranding this company,” Her eyes flicked over to Kara, who was stood rather awkwardly behind Clark, “And what about you Miss Danvers…I didn’t see your name on the byline.”

“Uh...Well, like I said, I’m not a reporter.” 

“Well you could have fooled me,” Lena said, sending a small wink Kara’s way as she returned to her desk, “I hope this isn’t the last time we talk.” The statement was open, potentially being directed at either of them, but her eyes were focused on Kara, who returned her gaze with an equal intensity.

“I hope not either.” 

//

Kara brimmed with excitement as she entered her former Bosses’ office; Cat Grant had given her an additional 48 hours to decide what position she wanted within CatCo Worldwide Media. She had almost used every minute of her additional time, but finally she knew what she wanted to do. 

Cat looked up at her expectantly, waiting for Kara to speak. 

“I want to be a reporter.” She said confidently, finally feeling as if she was starting to understand how to be Kara. There was a strong need within her to be a separate person from Supergirl, a burning desire for a separate life. A desire that she could almost convince herself had nothing to do with a certain raven-haired beauty with green eyes and pink lipstick.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:- Apologies for the delay, life got in the way. Hope you enjoy the chapter, I know it's missing Kara/Lena time but bear with me, I promise it will come :)

Sister night was one of Kara's favourite activities. It encompassed everything she loved the most- Alex, pizza, potstickers and television. Just a chance for the two of them to unwind, eat and hang out. And tonight it was even more special because Clark was coming too. Kara turned the TV on and hurried to finish setting up.

"Kara, does Clark like red or white?" Alex asked, holding a bottle of wine in each hand.

"Neither," Kara answered, arranging the table, "Alcohol may not affect us Kryptonians but he still won't touch it. He's such a big nerd."

There was a knock at the apartment door and she jogged over to answer it, as Alex, having decided for the both of them, poured two glasses of white wine.

"Great timing," Kara said as she opened the door to reveal Clark standing in the hall. She stepped back and gestured for him to come inside.

"Hi Clark," Alex greeted, slipping the cork back into the bottle she'd opened.

"Hey Alex…Um, would you mind giving Kara and I a minute alone please?"

"Sure."

"Thanks," Clark called after Alex's retreating form. "Kara, listen, I've got some news."

"You're going back to Metropolis." She pre-empted, trying not to look too crestfallen. She'd known he wouldn't stick around forever, he had his own life to get back to after all, but she had hoped to have a few more days with him at least.

He nodded, "Yeah, I wish I could stay longer, really I do, but I've got to get back to Lois and the Daily Planet and well…Metropolis needs Superman just like National City needs you."

"I understand."

The calm, clear voice of a newsreader, originating from the television, cut through their conversation.

"A man is threatening to jump from National City Bridge. Emergency personnel are on route and a bridge closure is currently in effect…"

Kara turned to look at Clark, "One more team up before you go?"

He simply grinned in answer and together, they flew out to the bridge.

/

National City Bridge was a hive of activity. NCPD patrol cars blocked both entrances, their emergency lights illuminating the area in alternating flashes of blue and red. A news channel helicopter hovered overhead, no doubt ready to capture the footage whether it be a heart-warming happy ending or a tragic suicide.

The man in question was dressed all in dark clothing and had his back to the cousins, standing on the ledge of the bridge.

"Sir? You don't have to do this," Kara called out, slowly approaching the figure with Clark. The man turned around and she felt her blood run cold.

"Corben," she said in disbelief, trying to wrap her head around how a man she thought was dead could be stood in front of her. His shirt melted away to reveal a glowing green orb embedded into the center of his chest. It pulsed and a stream of green energy slammed into Clark, flipping him into the air. He landed a few feet away, residual green light fanning out over his body as he twisted in pain. Kara's eyes flicked from her cousin back to Corben and she shifted her body into a defensive stance, readying herself for a fight.

"No, not Corben, Metallo." His eyes were cold and there was nothing but contempt in his voice as he spoke. He jumped down onto the bridge and the green orb pulsed again, sending another stream of energy to collide with Superman. Kara moved in, punching with all her might but the blow was easily absorbed. Too easily, she thought, something was wrong here, he shouldn't have been able to withstand that punch. It dawned on her a second too late that the orb contained kryptonite. Then Metallo retaliated and before she knew what was happening she was soaring through the air to collide with the concrete. An action that despite her best efforts, was becoming all too familiar to her.

Metallo moved to where Superman lay and started to punch the supine superhero repeatedly before pulling him up to grip him in a choke hold. Using a nearby abandoned sedan to support her weight, Kara forced herself up. She needed to help Clark. Fixing her gaze on Metallo she engaged her heat vision and he quickly released her cousin, bringing his right hand up to protect himself. The beam of blue energy burned through the flesh on his hand, leaving only charred bone. He screamed in fury, chest pulsing as it shot another beam of green Kara's way. She flipped in a perfect arc, avoiding the impact and landing smoothly behind the car.

Using the vehicle as cover, she crouched down and started pushing the car towards Metallo, hoping to get close enough to take another shot at him. Sparks flew, as bolt after bolt of kryptonite charged energy hit the sedan and Kara was pretty sure that some part of the car was on fire but she kept pushing, steadily making her way across the bridge. When she felt it collide with Metallo, she jumped up onto the roof, readying herself for another attack.

Almost instantly he fired again. This time, she wasn't fast enough and the energy collided with her chest. Pain erupted everywhere as she felt herself falling from the car. Her body felt like it was on fire and she writhed in agony, her thoughts tumbling chaotically from Clark to Alex to Lena. How was she supposed to protect people from this madman when she couldn't even stand?

A shadow moved over her. Metallo, moving in to finish the job, she thought, a sense of hopelessness engulfing her as he came into focus.

"I was shot in the back," he said, towering over her with a victorious smirk resting on his features, "at least you'll see your death coming."

She tensed, waiting for the kryptonite to light up her nerves and force them to perform an excruciating dance. It never came. Clark flew out of nowhere, propelling Metallo off the bridge and far into the distance. She let out a sigh of relief and felt her body relax. Succumbing to the darkness, her vision faded out as she lost consciousness.

/

Kara woke up mid-flight. Her whole body ached and although it was slightly embarrassing she was glad Clark was carrying her; there was no way she'd have been able to fly unaided.

"We're almost back at the DEO." He said, glancing down at her, his expression grim.

True to his word, less than a minute later they flew through the entrance to the government agency, both Supers looking slightly bedraggled and worse for wear.

Alex was the first to notice the pair, "Kara," she said, rushing forward to take her sisters weight from Superman, concern furrowing her brow. She slung an arm round Karas waist for support, feeling the other woman sink into her touch.

"I'm fine," Kara insisted, "I'm just a little dizzy."

Alex rolled her eyes but didn't argue and instead focused on helping her sister make her way gingerly over to the group that was gathered in the DEOs command center.

Clark meanwhile, had stormed across the space to where J'onn was standing.

"Hey!" He shouted, his body vibrating with anger. "You told me that only the DEO had access to kryptonite. So how do you explain what just happened to us out there? A kryptonite charged cyborg almost killed Kara, almost killed me…" There was a tense pause as Superman let his words sink in. Kara felt Alex look at her, felt her press her hand just that little bit more firmly into the small of her back as if reassuring herself that her sister was indeed alive and well. J'onn fixed his eyes on the floor, avoiding the gazes of the two superheroes.

"Start talking J'onn!" Clark snapped impatiently. The Martian looked up, shifting his weight from side to side.

"A shipment went missing four months ago," he admitted, "we've done everything we can to find it."

"Four months ago?" Kara repeated, astounded. Why hadn't she been told?

A sneer curled the edges of Clarks lips. "Went missing?" He asked, his contempt for the DEO obvious.

"Stolen," Alex chipped in, "we thought it was an inside job but the transport team came up clean."

"So, you have a mole," Clark countered, glaring at J'onn.

"We don't know that for sure," J'onn said defiantly.

"If you had gotten rid of it when I asked you to-"

"We would have been helpless when Non and Astra launched Myriad." J'onn interrupted, making his way over to Superman. "Or have you forgotten that it was a force that even the man of steel couldn't defeat?"

Clark placed a hand on J'onns chest, pushing firmly to prevent him walking any closer.

"We have given our lives to protect the people of Earth, if you cared about Kara at all-"

"Watch what you say."

"Or what?" Clark raised his voice. The two men were a mere few centimetres apart, both bristling with energy that threatened to spill over into a fight. J'onn opened his mouth, but before he could respond there was a buzzing sound and all of the monitors in the command center turned on simultaneously. Static filled the screens but after a few seconds it was replaced by the image of a female mannequin-like face. An electronic voice, clearly disguised, started to speak.

'People of national city, the earth has been stolen from us. The enemy has come in the guise of heroes.'

The mannequin-like face flickered briefly off the screen, replaced by images of Superman and Supergirl, interspersed with explosions and other destructive imagery.

'They say they come in peace to protect us from ourselves. But how long will it be before these Gods decide to rule instead of serve?'

'We are the antidote to their poison. We are the scientists who will show them what humans are capable of. Those who have sided with the invaders will not be spared. You cannot stop us. We are everywhere. We are Cadmus.'

The synthetic face finished its speech of hatred and the screens went blank.

"Cadmus," Superman repeated, still staring up at the monitors despite the images having ceased.

"Announcing themselves to the world," said Winn.

"Declaring open war," J'onn added.

Kara looked round at the group, "They want to kill us, all of us."

"Cadmus has my father," Alex said, "If they've turned Corben into Metallo then what do you think they've done with my Dad?"

Kara pulled her sister close, squeezing comfortingly, "We'll find him."

"And stop him," Clark said, firmly, "Metallo isn't just flesh and blood anymore, Cadmus has given him a metal endoskeleton. I hit him a few times, there's gotta be traces of the alloy on my hands. I can analyse it at the fortress of solitude."

"Mr Schott," J'onn snapped, springing into action, "Get Non and Astra's anti-kryptonite technology out of storage. See if you can improve upon it for our two friends here," While Winn looked like he might pass out from excitement, J'onn turned to Clark, "Superman this thing is bigger than the both of us, we should work together on this."

Clark nodded his assent and they left together, their earlier fight seemingly on hold for the time being.

Kara turned to Alex, she could see the worry setting up camp on her sisters face over the mention of Cadmus, "You wanna crash at mine tonight? We can get pizza and potstickers? And you can help me decide what to wear for my first day as a reporter tomorrow."

Alex smiled at Kara's adorably excited face and felt a rush of gratitude towards her sister for the distraction, "Count me in."

/

Today was the day. Her first as a proper reporter. Following her disastrous introduction to her new boss a few days prior, wherein he had pretty much ignored her presence, Kara was determined that this time Snapper Carr would actually speak to her. Heading across the workspace at Catco Worldwide Media, she made a beeline for Snapper who looked like he was already barking out orders.

She approached him, "Am I late to the editorial meeting?"

"You missed the meeting," he replied, moving around the frantic workspace, "Someone get me a copy on Cadmus in the next five minutes," he shouted to the room, ignoring Kara and turning to move about the floorspace.

"Mr Carr, I'm sorry, just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it," she said, following him, "Where do I sit?"

"You don't sit anywhere, Ponytail."

"Oh," Kara said, surprised. "That's ok, I'm all about the action anyway. I can pound the pavement," she moved forward earnestly, eager to get her first assignment.

Snapper sighed in frustration, "You can't sit anywhere because you dont work here, Blondie."

"But that's not up to you," Kara protested, "Miss Grant hired me."

"I don't care what Cat has to say, this is my office, my hires."

"But this is the job I wanted. I chose it."

"Oh you chose it," Snapper said, his voice sing-song in an obviously mocking manner, "Well you didn't earn it, you can't just become a reporter. You're a reporter because you went to journalism school or because you walked the beat. Either way, journos love to tell stories, to get to the truth, to get their hands dirty." He turned away, keeping his back to her as he sorted through various copies on the table.

Kara could feel her dream slipping away. Tears pricked hotly at the corners of her eyes and she willed herself not to cry, "I'll admit, I have a lot to learn but if you just give me an assignment-"

"No assignment, no job." Snapper said, spinning back round to face her, his forehead crinkled in an angry scowl, "Now get your entitled, millenial ass out of this office before I channel my last divorce and break you emotionally!"

"Well, I...you..." She groaned in frustration at her inability to get out any words to put her point across. The man was just so infuriating that she couldn't think clearly.

Dismissing her with a bored eye roll, he turned back to his copies, "Thanks for killing the lingering possibility that you might speak or write well."

Kara was aware she was vaguely reminiscent of a goldfish as she tried to gather herself. Exhaling angrily, she gave up trying to persuade him to give her a chance and left his office without another word. Maybe Cat could do something to help. With a new-found determination, she set out to find Miss Grant and get her reporting career started.

/

A few hours later, still furious over Snapper Carr's refusal to treat her as a reporter and Cats' subsequent refusal to fix things with him for her, Kara lay disheartened on her sofa. Adding to her misery, Cat had then dropped the bombshell that she too was leaving and everything had all gotten a bit much for the young superhero to cope with so she had retreated hastily to the solid, unchanging comfort of her apartment. With her head propped up on her favourite mustard yellow cushion she absentmindedly scrolled through the news on her phone, the articles merely a weak attempt to distract herself from her crappy afternoon. Tax increase, new shopping centre, prize-winning Beagle, L-Corp C.E.O destined for good...her thumb stilled, suspended over the device. She clicked on the article. It was a standard PR piece, stating the intentions Lena had for her company, nothing new to Kara but she was glad to see the company get more positive press. Lena deserved it.

Skimming through the article, she stopped when she came to a photo of the raven-haired woman. The picture was a million miles from corporate Lena. Clearly a candid shot, the woman looked relaxed and happy, a closed-lipped smile playing with the corners of her mouth as she walked alone through a park. She was dressed in tight, form-fitting blue jeans, black ankle boots and a dark green, long-sleeved plaid shirt that only served to make her eyes more enticing. Kara felt her heartbeat quicken ever so slightly as she drank in the image and it both excited and terrified her all in the same moment. She'd never felt this way about anyone before, never had such an immediate attraction or captivation with another person, male or female. It was amazing really, how those green eyes and that signature pink lipstick could completely blindside her and take over her thoughts. The question was, what was she going to do about it? What could she do about it?

Before she could devote any more of her time to thoughts of Lena, there was a metallic jingle, followed by the scraping of a key in the lock. A quick sweep with her x-ray vision revealed Alex standing outside her apartment door, midway through unlocking it and Kara hurriedly pressed the home button on her phone. She didn't need another lecture on the danger that Lena Luthor posed right now, and she certainly wasn't ready to talk about her feelings towards the CEO. A few seconds later her sisters head popped round the door.

"You ok?" Alex asked, stepping inside and dropping her keys and phone on the table on her way over to where her sister was lying on the sofa.

"No." Kara sighed, pushing away thoughts of Lena and moving her legs so Alex could sit down. "My boss un-hired me today so it turns out I'm not actually a reporter and I just found out that Cat's leaving. Clark's leaving too," she exhaled slowly, "Everything is changing."

Alex's face twisted in sympathy, knowing how Kara took everything to heart that happened around her, "I'll get us some ice-cream," she said, reaching over to pat her sisters arm, "Things will be better tomorrow. For both of us. Hopefully Superman and J'onn will have some information on Cadmus and we'll finally be able to find my Dad."

As Kara watched Alex walk over to the freezer to dig out a tub of rocky road, the spark of an idea ignited in her brain. Alex needed to find her Dad, Kara needed a distracted from the crapfest that was her life and maybe Lena Luthor could help with both of their issues.

"I was thinking..." She began hesitantly, overriding her earlier notion to hide her newfound interest in the Luthor from her sister, "L-Corp has access to some very advanced technology. What if...I dunno, what if I befriended Lena Luthor? She might be able to help us track down Cadmus and then we might be able to finally find your father. What do you think?"

Alex froze momentarily, then slowly closed the freezer door and turned to lock eyes with Kara. "I think we've already been over this. You can't be friends with her, Kara. For all we know, she is behind Cadmus."

Kara leapt up off the sofa to stalk towards her sister, "She isn't behind Cadmus," she insisted, perhaps a little too strongly, she realised, but what the hell; she was all-in with her idea now.

"How do you know that?" Alex ran her hand though her hair, blowing out an exasperated puff of air from her pursed lips, "God, Kara my whole life has been about protecting you and your identity and now you want to jeopardise all that by hanging out with the sister of a man who hates Supers? What if she finds out who you are? What are you going to do then?"

"She won't find out. I-."

"You dont know that." Alex snapped, cutting off Kara's protests.

The blonde scuffed her foot along the floor sullenly, regretting starting the conversation, "I know you're being a massive butthead about it."

"Very mature." Alex scoffed and brought a hand up to rub tiredly over her face. "But then again that's just typical of us isn't it? I always have to be the mature one. I'm the one who has to sacrifice everything for you and you...you just do whatever you want.

Kara's eyes flashed with anger. "I do whatever I want? Are you serious? I can't live a normal life Alex. I can't go on dates, I can't just take time out and do something for myself. All because I'm Supergirl... and that means I have to sacrifice everything for everybody else all of the time. I thought that maybe you of all people would've have noticed that but if you havent then maybe you don't care about me as much as you think you do."

The two women stared at each other, Kara's words hanging heavily between them. A melody rang out from the direction of the sofa, interspersed with the low buzz of vibration. Silently, Kara moved to get her phone. It was Clark. Knowing he would only be ringing her if he had information she answered the call, hurriedly pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Winn has found traces of promethium in the industrial district. We think it could be Metallo. Meet me there?" Clark asked.

"Of course, I'm on my way." She hung up and was once again immersed in the awkwardness she'd help create in her apartment. Aware she'd gone too far but not quite ready to admit it yet she muttered to the general vicinity of her sister that she had to go, before striding past her on the way out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had been a trap. When the Supers arrived in the industrial district they'd been met with a smirking Corben, who had smugly informed them that if they were both in National city then they couldn't be in Metropolis with 'him'. A short speedy flight to Metropolis later they discovered that 'Him' was another Metallo, who had wreaked havoc on the city in Supermans absence. By the time they got there a park in the city centre had been decimated, flames still licking at the edges of the broken structures as they landed nearby. Superman walked through the area, amid the smoke and debris and Kara found herself unable to offer him any sort of meaningful comfort, the anguish evident in his features.

"I should have been here," He said finally, shaking his head at his own complacency, "I should have known."

"Superman, we didn't know there were two of them," she said sadly, knowing all too well how devastated she would feel if this were National City, how the guilt would coarse through her that she hadn't been there to protect the citizens of her city. He shrugged off the hand she placed on his shoulder and she let him go, knowing her words were meaningless right now.

/

The shiny glass exterior of the DEO headquarters glinted in the afternoon sun as Kara sped towards it. She had reluctantly agreed to leave Clark alone in Metropolis after he insisted he needed to be there for his people and that it was his job and his job alone to fix the park. Seeing the devastation caused by Metallo and people holding their loved ones close as they escaped the scene had reminded her that her relationship with Alex was more important than her new-found fascination with Lena Luthor. The Superhero knew there was definitely some making up to do on her part and there was no time like the present to start apologising.

Striding across the open area that made up the main workspace of the agency, she glanced around but couldn't see her sister anywhere obvious. Winn was at his desk, engrossed in what looked like suit schematics until Kara bounded over to him, jolting him out of his geeky trance.

"Hey Winn," She leaned against his desk and picked up his miniature Lego Yoda, fiddling with its tiny movable arms, "Where's Alex?"

"Alex?" He asked. "Alex Danvers?"

"Er, Yeah, I need to talk to her, we had a disagreement and I haven't been very fair to her lately."

"Well... she is not here." He replied, without taking his eyes off his computer screen.

"Where is she?"

He shrugged non-chalantly. A little too non-chalantly, for her liking and Kara watched him intently, her eyes narrowing as she took in his suddenly sweaty forehead. He was definitely hiding something.

"Where is she Winn?" she asked again, fixing him with a medium-level glare.

"Errrr..." He swallowed nervously and flicked his eyes around the room, steadfastedly avoiding her own.

"Winn." She started, lacing her voice with just the right amount of threat. "Tell me where my sister is."

/

Situated in the industrial district of National City, the warehouse Winn had directed her to consisted of a concrete shell with a corrugated iron roof. It wasn't lead lined, allowing Kara to quickly scan it with her X-ray vision. Sweeping her gaze over the building, she could make out a figure running, being chased by two other silhouettes. Alex.

Smashing through the roof, she joined her sister mid-fight, evening things up considerably. They moved fluidly together, like they'd done in training a hundred times before, making short work of their opponents.

Kara ran over to her sister as the last goon hit the floor, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, thanks to you." Alex smiled at her, grateful for the rescue. Kara smiled back and then, remembering why she had been looking for her sister in the first place, dropped her gaze in shame.

"I'm sorry, Alex." She said earnestly, wrapping her arms around her sister and pulling her into an embrace, "I'm so sorry for ever questioning how much you cared about me. I was being a jerk. I think with all the change recently, I've just got it in my head that I need to do my own thing but I was being stupid. All I need in my life is you."

Alex squeezed her sister tightly then pulled away, nodding her agreement, "I think it's better when we're together."

"Yeah, me too..." Kara trailed off, her mind working overtime. Cadmus had deliberately attacked Metropolis in order to draw Superman back to his city. It was divide and conquer, the oldest trick in the book. All the DEO had to do now was surprise Cadmus by having reinforcements in both cities.

"Thats it, Alex!" The blonde said excitedly, "They think we're divided but we're not."

The DEO agent looked puzzled at the sudden jump in conversation, "They, who?"

"I know what to do about Metallo, both Metallos, but I need your help."

"Kara, I'll always be here for you."

/

The report fluttered in her hands as she moved through the workspace of Catco with purpose. Kara had been right, Cadmus had expected the Supers to be alone in their respective cities, easy targets for elimination. That had not been the case and both Metallos' were defeated after tough fights with Superman, J'onn, Alex and Supergirl working together in their respective pairs. When it was over, Kara, after celebratory drinks of course, had wedged herself into a cushion fortress on her sofa with her laptop and a mountain of potstickers, determined not to move from that spot until her article was finished.

A considerable number of hours later, she had emailed the complete report to her office account and changed out of her sweatpants into a work-appropriate white dress cut just above the knee. She knew Snapper could probably care less what she was wearing but she wasn't about to hand in her first report looking like she had spent all evening eating Chinese food on her sofa, however true that may be.

When Kara arrived at Catco she noticed James carrying a box of his personal effects across the office and immediately worried that this was because of her. Determined that things wouldn't be awkward between them she made a beeline for him.

"Hey," she said, "What's going on?" She gestured to his box of office bric-a-brac.

"New beginnings." He replied, glancing at her as she fell into step with him.

"Where are you going? You aren't going because of me, are you?" As much as she was sure she didn't want to be romantically involved with him, she didn't want him to leave Catco because of her. He was a good person and she'd hoped they would remain friends, even if things would be a little uncomfortable at first.

James smiled, trying to put her at ease, "Not far and no Kara, I'm doing this for me. I'm the new Cat. Well," He paused, reconsidering, "not the new Cat but she gave me her job while she's away."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know, it's a huge step up for me…and I can talk to Snapper for you if you want-."

Kara held up a hand, stopping him, "As much as I appreciate the offer, I think that's something I have to do for myself. Anyway, congrats…Boss."

He smirked, "I like the sound of that."

"Don't get used to it," She said softly, glad they were back to joking around with each other. Shooting him a grin, she spun on her heel and went to print out her work. Encountering only one minor paper-jam related setback, she quickly assembled her report. It was well written and she knew it. Determined that, Snapper Carr was going to like it whether he wanted to or not, all she had to do now was confront him.

Report in hand, she marched into his office and saw him sat at his desk, reading something. She slapped the report down in front of him, gaining a fleeting moment of satisfaction when he jumped at the sudden noise.

"Five hundred words on the dual Metallo attacks in Metropolis and National City with eye-witness accounts, comments from police sources and zero adjectives. All thoroughly vetted and verified." She folded her arms across her chest, defiantly, resolute in her mindset that she would not let him fob her off.

"You don't work here." He said tiredly, moving her report out of his way.

"Yes, I do."

"Not if I don't say so."

"You will. Read it and you'll see." Kara stared at him fiercely until he picked it up and thumbed through it. She felt a glimmer of hope that was quickly quashed when he sighed and threw her report down on his desk. He gave her his signature bored eye roll over the top of his thick-rimmed glasses.

"Don't waste my time."

Anger bubbled within her and she snatched her report up, "You don't want it? Fine. Plenty of other outlets will." She started to walk away but only got as far as the door before he called her back.

"Wait." Kara stopped and turned back around. Snapper paused and reached up to remove his glasses before fixing her with his gaze.

"I don't like you and I never will, Ponytail."

She jutted her jaw in defiance, "I don't need you to like me Jerk…guy."

He sighed once more, "You're as bad at insults as you are at reporting. Come back tomorrow...maybe I can teach you something." He picked his glasses back up and placed them on his face, dismissing her as he turned back to what he had been reading.

Kara left his office with a spring in her step, unable to stop the grin that was threatening to take over her face. Things were definitely looking up; separating Kara and Supergirl was starting to take effect and she, Kara Danvers, was now officially employed as a reporter. Elation spread through her and she laughed. This called for her favourite means of celebration. Tonight, she was going flying.

/

Soaring high above the city Kara allowed herself a celebratory loop-de-loop, arms splayed while joyful shouts fell from her lips. She'd done it. From now on she could officially introduce herself as Kara Danvers, reporter and she had to admit, it felt great. Laughter spilled from her and she indulged in one more loop-de-loop before changing direction, heading home in a more sedate, DEO approved flying style.

Glancing around to get her bearings, she noticed she was near L Corp and her body automatically detoured, slowing to a static hover when she saw that despite it being the early hours of the morning, Lena Luthor was still sat at her desk, fingers darting furiously over her keyboard. The CEO's computer was at a slight angle to the window so she mostly had her back to Kara, only the smallest sliver of her alabaster face visible from outside. As the young blonde watched Lena work, she couldn't help but wonder if the CEO ever got lonely. Clearly, she had no home life to get back to if she was still at work at this hour and the idea that someone could live a life that empty, saddened Kara. Lena was a good person and she deserved more. Kara debated landing on the CEO's balcony and keeping her company for a while under the guise of checking how she was after the helicopter incident. Images of Alex's disapproving face soon appeared in her mind stopping such thoughts in their tracks. With a final glance at the businesswoman, she shot off, heading back to her apartment to get at least a few hours' sleep before work.

Inside Lena's perfectly temperature-controlled office, a shiver seeped slowly down the raven-haired womans' spine and she stopped typing, her hands frozen above her computer keyboard. The tingly feeling lingered, right on the edge of being uncomfortable and Lena just couldn't shake off the idea she was being watched. The notion was of course absurd, she was thirty-five floors high, the only person left in the entire building aside from her security guards in the lobby and there were no neighbouring buildings as high as L Corp.

And yet the feeling persisted. Sighing in mild annoyance at her runaway imagination, she softly pushed her heels against the floor so her chair spun slowly round to fully face the window. The city was still, though a few other office lights remained illuminated, showing her that there were other people out there that were as work-centered as she was, or perhaps, and she had to admit this is much more likely, the lights were merely a by-product of someone's carelessness and disregard for the environment. Lena gazed down to the street below, watching the occasional car creep by, late-night taxi-cabs making their way to another fare. Other than that, the quiet was absolute and there was most definitely no one watching her. She was, as usual, completely alone. Turning back to her work, she tried very hard to ignore the tiny part of her that was disappointed.


	5. Chapter 5

The Department of Extra-normal Operations was bustling with activity, every available person seemingly engaged in cleaning or tidying duties. Floors and walls shone at levels Kara had never thought possible with every surface polished within an inch of its life. She moved down a set of stairs towards the medical bay, puzzled over the increased level of housekeeping she was seeing. The extra effort obviously wasn't for her, as this was the most-spotless she had ever seen the building in the whole time she had been working with the DEO. Clearly, they were getting ready for something or someone much more important. Spotting her sister talking with J'onn inside one of the labs she made her way over to the pair.

"Hey, what's with all the cleaning?" Kara said, gesturing to the numerous agents armed with mops and dusters within their field of vision.

J'onn inclined his head in silent greeting before answering, "The President is making a visit to the DEO." The words fell matter of fact from his mouth, as if it were an every-day occurrence, no more interesting than the daily weather report. Before she could stop it, she let out a small excited squeal.

"What?!" She asked excitedly and clasped her hands together, a huge grin breaking out over her face. "The President is coming here?"

"Yep," Alex answered with a small smile at her sisters' excitement level, "She wants to tour the DEO while she's in National City signing the Alien Amnesty Act."

Supergirl nodded, remembering the Act was due to be signed into law a few days from now.

"That Act is amazing," she gushed, gesturing wildly to the room, "An executive order allowing Aliens on Earth to come out of societies shadows and live as full citizens. She's making history."

"Not as far as I'm concerned." J'onn said, "I think she's making a big mistake."

Kara's eyes snapped to J'onns, "How can you, of all people, say that?"

"Because, it's been my experience that humans and aliens just don't mix."

Disbelief swept over her face, "What about you and me?" she asked.

"What about us?" J'onn replied, shrugging his shoulders at her, "We look like them, we blend in. A lot of aliens can't do that and honestly, people don't really tolerate things that look different from them. I say that both as an alien and as someone who has worn the face of a human black man for fifteen years."

"J'onn's right," Alex chipped in, "I can count the number of aliens I can trust on one hand with two fingers left over."

Kara couldn't quite believe the opinion of the two people she was standing next to. Was she really the only one that was excited about the Presidents Act? Maybe she was naïve but surely it was better to have faith in society than live in a perpetual state of doubt and mistrust? Her mood deflated and she crossed her arms sullenly before speaking, "Well, I'm just glad the President doesn't see the world the way you two do."

"You can be sure to tell her that when you meet her," Alex said, leaning in close, "I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear of your support."

"What?" Kara asked curiously.

"Obviously, she expects National City's most prolific alien to greet her on the tarmac."

"I'm meeting the President?" Kara asked slowly, Alex's words sinking in. "The President of the United States?"

"Well yeah, unless you're too nervous?"

Kara began to pace, her cape billowing behind her as she gestured emphatically, "Nervous? No, why would I be nervous? I'm not nervous; it's only the president… of the whole country…" She suddenly stopped pacing and spun around on her heel to face her friends. "Yeah, of course I'm nervous -it's the frickin' President!"

J'onn calm as ever, continued as though she hadn't just reacted like a highly-strung teenager about to meet their celebrity crush. "You'll be representing the entire Agency. I expect you'll be professional."

Kara nodded, with a quick glance at her smirking sister. "Yes."

"And for the record," He added, "She's the one that's lucky to meet you."

"Thanks…," she smiled, twirling her fingers through her blonde locks. While watching the golden strands spill through her fingertips, she frowned thoughtfully. "Should I get my hair done?"

J'onn sighed and rolled his eyes, dismissing her by abruptly walking away.

Kara raised her eyebrows at Alex who was laughing softly, "Is that a yes or no?"

/

A few days later, Kara along with the entire editorial team, was gathered in James' office at Catco, whispers of excitement undulating throughout the room; today was the day the President was signing the Alien Amnesty Act. James cleared his throat to speak and the whispers died away to a create a hushed silence. Kara was standing near the rear of the room, slightly off to one side, not yet confident enough to take a spot more in the limelight of any meeting. Her trusty disguise glasses were in place and she reached up to fiddle with their frames, impatiently waiting for her boss to start.

"Welcome guys, to an editorial meeting for the history books." James clapped his hands together, and leaned back against his desk. "I'm sure for decades to come we will all remember where we were the day the President stood up for all individuals rights, regardless of birth planet. So…we need a headline. Any thoughts?"

"We're just going to stand here and pitch headlines?" Snapper asked. His glasses were perched atop his head, reinforcing the smug douchebag look he seemed to strive for and Kara had to actively resist the urge to use her powers to blow them off.

James gave a brief easy laugh, "Yeah, that's kinda how it goes around here, Snapper."

Snapper rolled his eyes, his disapproval evident to the whole room, "You don't come up with a headline first Olsen, you go out onto the street first and find the news. The headline comes second."

"Well Cat Grant-"

"Oh, is that what you're going to be?" Interrupted Snapper, his lips curled up into a sneer. "A carbon copy of your former boss? Or are you going to be hard news man and make your own mark?"

There was a brief awkward silence in which the entire team seemed to hold their breath while waiting for James to respond. Snapper was out of line and they all knew it, not that any of them would speak up.

"Ooook" James finally said, the word rolling around his mouth before reaching completion. "We'll take a little pause on the headline then. Our first priority is to get an exclusive with the President. Everything else today is icing. So, I-"

"I say everything else is bread and butter." Snapper interjected, moving to the centre of the room, "Scope, call the AFL for a response to the bill, do the unions fear that illegal aliens are going to flood the labour market and drive down wages? How does the American worker feel about competing with Aliens for jobs?"

James made to speak, trying to regain control of the meeting but Snapper continued to dish out jobs, ignoring his boss completely. "Addison, you can be on the CDC, what sort of diseases are these Aliens bringing with them? Are there any medical protocols in place? Morris, you do the human-interest piece. Interplanetary marriage and how it will affect our society. Get quotes from priests, rabbis, Mormons…you know the drill. As for the POTUS…"

"Danvers is on that." James said hurriedly.

Snapper looked incredulous, "Danvers? Danvers is a rookie. We need someone hard-hitting."

James gritted his teeth, frustration seeping out of every pore at the demolition of each plan he had tried to implement as the new head of Catco, "Believe me Snapper, she can be hard-hitting."

"Trust me," Kara said, jumping into the conversation in a desperate bid to keep the POTUS. "I can pack a punch like you would not believe. Plus, I may or may not be running into the president later so..." She trailed off as Snapper waved a dismissive hand.

"Parker, you get POTUS, Danvers, you get Lena Luthor. Her brother's infamous for his anti-alien sentiments. Get her take on this." He turned away to address the room once more, "Copy to the desk by noon and they'd better be perfect. Go."

The room erupted into activity as everyone made to leave and start on their assignments. Kara smiled sympathetically at James who looked slightly shell-shocked and more than a tad deflated. She wished she had the time to comfort him but J'onn had insisted she be at the airport to meet the President on time with no 'swooping in at the last minute like you always do'.

"I'm sorry but I have to go, Supergirl is meeting the President…no biggie." Kara said and flashed him another reassuring smile before she left.

/

A sizeable crowd had gathered on a large tarmac area near the runway of National City's airport, eagerly awaiting the disembarking of the President. Kara landed amongst the crowd a few minutes before the door to the aircraft opened and the President, a smartly dressed middle-aged brunette woman who looked every bit as humble as Kara had imagined her to be, emerged flanked by a team of security guards. The crowd erupted in excitement, clapping and cheering loudly and the blonde joined in, applauding as the President waved and started to make her way down the steps to the tarmac. Only a mere second later a beam of orange fire arced overhead and struck one of the black suit-clad members of the Presidents security detail. He tumbled down the stairs screaming, engulfed in flame and the chaos was instantaneous as panic swept through the crowd. Supergirl sprang into action, shouting at those around to run then flying into the air, scanning the area to try to catch a glimpse of the person responsible. Another beam of fire took out a second guard. At the first sign of trouble all the guards had moved together, ushering the President down the stairs in an attempt to get her safely into the bullet-and more importantly fire-proof car that waited at the bottom. Now only two guards remained.

A rogue fireball struck Kara mid-air causing her to spin and collide with the air-traffic control tower. Pushing off the building she flew back into open air, dodging fireball after fireball, trying to keep the President in sight. She could see that the brunette woman had almost made it to the car but only a single member of her security detail remained active. A fireball struck him in the back and he too went up in flame, leaving the President defenceless. Kara dove, landing in front of her just in time to take the hit of a fireball intended for the leader of the United States. Holding her cape splayed in a protective arc, she braced for more fireballs. When none came, she risked a glance over her shoulder at the scene around her. The area was silent and it appeared that whomever had caused the destruction had made their escape.

Kara locked eyes with the President, who had remained surprisingly calm in the face of such danger. "Are you ok Madam President?" She asked.

"Yes, thanks to you, Supergirl." The President smiled gratefully. "We're definitely lucky to have Aliens like you here on Earth with us."

Kara beamed with pride at the praise from none other than the President of the United States herself but before she could respond that it was nothing really, a security team hustled over to them and urged the President into the safety of the car. The President, evidently used to being whisked into armoured vehicles, gave Kara a wink and an apologetic smile.

"I look forward to seeing you at the DEO later, Supergirl." She called over her shoulder as she ducked into the car.

Kara replied in kind but the engine had already roared to life and drowned her words out. Still, she stood there in a daze until Alex's hand on her shoulder brought her out of her hero-worship.

"Where are they taking her?" Alex asked.

"Back to the DEO." Kara replied and they both walked towards the main terminal building. "You know, Alex, she was so nice and so grateful, and she called me Supergirl!"

"Well that is your name." Alex responded dryly.

"Yeah, I know that, but it just sounds better when she says it. Supergirl." The word popped out of Kara's mouth emphatically and she framed it with her hands. "How did anyone even vote for that other guy?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "When you're done fawning over your new best friend, perhaps you can look at this scene with me?" They had reached a strip of red carpet that was covered in scorch marks. "The burn pattern is consistent with a heat-vision signature."

"Definitely an Alien involved then." Kara stated, bending down for a closer look. "Any idea who they were?"

"No," Alex shook her head, "Winn is doing his thing, trying to track them down but we might need to wait a while. Luckily, I arranged for some DEO crime scene technicians to be here on standby just in case so in the mean-time we'll gather whatever evidence we can find…" She trailed off, and Kara turned her head to see what had captured her sister's attention. A Latina woman that she didn't recognise was hovering near one of the aforementioned crime scene technicians as they bagged evidence.

Kara watched her sisters face harden and without another word the red-head stalked over to the leather jacket-clad woman. They proceeded to engage in what looked like a pretty heated conversation and Kara did not envy the woman at all. Once you'd pissed Alex off you were in for a bumpy ride, an experience Kara had grown all too familiar with over the years. After a few minutes the woman left throwing her hands up in a defeated gesture that again, Kara was all too familiar with, having left many arguments in their previously shared bedroom that way. Alex re-joined Kara with a face like thunder and the blonde knew better than to ask what that had been about. She'd ask later when Alex didn't look like she wanted to punch something.

"It's either a Kryptonian or an Infernian." Kara said, crouching down in order to gesture to the scorch marks in an effort to distract her sister. "Both species have heat vision but seeing as the only two Kryptonians on the planet are Superman and I, I'm going to go with an Infernian." She stood and dusted off her knees. "You should have the DEO look into any Infernians on file. I have to go, I'm conducting my very first interview as a reporter with Lena Luthor and don't want to keep her waiting. Call me if you find anything out, okay?"

Alex nodded, her face still a picture of muted anger.

/

Less than twenty minutes later, Kara stood outside the door to Lena Luthors office trying not to look as nervous as she felt. This was her first proper interview as a bona fide reporter. Sure, she had been disappointed when Snapper had reassigned the POTUS but interviewing Lena Luthor was definitely a decent consolation prize. She hadn't seen the business woman since the day after the L-Corp rebranding ceremony and she'd be lying if she said the nerves were solely a result of the interview itself rather than the woman she was interviewing. Urging the butterflies in her stomach to ease off she took a final deep breath and entered the womans' office.

Lena was sat at her desk studying something closely on her computer screen while twirling a pen between her fingers. Her raven hair was scraped back into a pony tail and her make-up as per usual was applied flawlessly. Kara's gaze was momentarily captivated by the womans' full lipstick-adorned mouth which was pursed in a slight frown. Shaking herself out of it she forced herself to start acting professionally, reminding herself that she couldn't afford to screw this interview up.

"Miss Luthor." Kara greeted warmly as she approached Lena's desk.

"Lena, please." The CEO insisted, standing up in order to shake the reporters' hand, "Good to see you again, Miss Danvers."

Kara took Lenas' outstretched hand in her own, steadfastly ignoring the tingle travelling up her arm that continued even after she had released her grip. Green eyes met her own and the corner of pink lips curled up in a small teasing smile. Almost as if the CEO knew the effect she'd just had on the reporter.

Kara coughed awkwardly and dropped her gaze. "Well, if I'm calling you Lena…"

"Kara, it is then." Lena chuckled, gesturing at the other woman to take a seat. "Oh, I almost forgot, if you have a parking ticket I can have it validated for you."

"No. No, its ok. I flew here…on…on the bus."  _Nice save_ , Kara chided herself silently, feeling her cheeks flush hotly at her slip of the tongue.

Lena's eyes sparked in brief amusement before her expression sobered as she got down to business. "I'm glad you decided to give reporting a shot Kara, although if you're here the day the President is in town to sign the Alien Amnesty Act…" Lena trailed off with a wry smile that didn't completely cover the pain in her eyes.

"Then I must be here to ask the sister of Earth's most notorious alien-hater, her take on the Presidents executive order." Kara finished off, smiling apologetically.

Lena gazed at Kara thoughtfully for a moment then pushed her chair back, standing abruptly, "Let me show you something." She walked over to some shelving on which a small safe was placed. Kara followed, hanging back slightly as the CEO's fingers flew over the safe's keypad to enter the code. With a quiet beep the door sprang open, revealing a small device vaguely reminiscent of a wireless computer mouse.

"What is it?" Kara asked, intrigued, clipboard and pen at the ready.

"It's an alien detection device." Lena said, turning to face the reporter. "It allows humans to find out who among them isn't actually one of them. It isn't market ready yet, this is just the prototype and it still needs some tweaking but I hope to have this device in every store in every town across America within a few months."

Karas' heart, in the space of a few seconds had gone from fluttering under the CEO's gaze to feeling as though it had been plunged into ice as the implications behind Lena's words sank in. This device would no doubt be used by xenophobes to segregate and discriminate. Kara's stomach flipped in disgust and she felt the bile start to burn in the back of her throat. She supposed she should have known deep down that Lena would share her families' views on aliens but she'd been so desperate to see the good in the other woman that she had let herself be sucked in by Lena's PR spiel. Anger started to ebb through her veins, directed both at Lena and herself for being so stupid and it was all she could do to keep her expression neutral and the contents of her stomach where they were supposed to be.  _Focus_ , she told herself sternly,  _you've got a job to do_.

"How does it work?" She finally managed to ask through gritted teeth, managing to make a few notes on her clipboard. Namely the words Luthor and xenophobe.

Lena continued fidgeting with the device, oblivious to the rapid cooling of the rooms' atmosphere. "It's a simple skin test. Here, let me show you what a negative response looks like."

Lena pressed her thumb onto the sensor and the device beeped in approval and flashed with a green light.  _Of course, the light indicating a human had been detected was green in colour_ , Kara thought bitterly,  _because green is good and good means human_.

"See? Now, you try." Lena held out the device to Kara. Panic coursed through the blonde, there was no way she could touch that device and reveal who she really was.

"Uh…but won't a device like this…I mean doesn't it go against everything America is supposed to stand for?" Kara stammered out, in the hopes of distracting Lena enough to forget about testing her.

Lena looked slightly taken aback at the question, as if she hadn't considered the possibility of a negative reaction to her invention. She placed the device down and perched on the edge of her desk, arms folded. "Such as?"

"Well freedom for one. From persecution and oppression. This country has always been a country full of immigrants seeking a better life."

"It's also always been a country full of humans."

Kara laughed nervously, not quite believing what she was hearing. How could she have read Lena so wrongly? How could she have had no idea the woman was just as xenophobic as her brother? Urgh, and how could she have even been the slightest bit drawn to her? At least that particular dilemma was over now Lena's anti-alien views had been laid bare for all to see. A Super and a Luthor…what had she been thinking?

Remembering she had a job to do and that she actually needed to be conducting an interview instead of berating herself, the reporter tried to salvage the conversation. "Lena, don't you think this device will force aliens back into the shadows that the President is trying to shine a light on?"

"If aliens want to be citizens that's now their right but if humans want to know who among them isn't actually one of them then don't you think that's their right too?" Lena asked, folded her arms against her body in a defensive stance. "Besides, I'm a business woman Kara, L-Corp is in the business of making money and this device is going to make a fortune. But unlike my brother, I am going to do it for the good of the world." The CEO pushed herself off the desk and walked to window surveying the view.

Kara couldn't see how this device was going to be any good for the world but decided not to comment. Knowing the view would only distract the CEO for so long she made the most of the womans turned back and used her x-ray vision to damage the device, frying the chip that was able to detect alien DNA.

An awkward silence had befallen the room and with a huff of frustration the dark-haired woman moved away from the window and lowered herself into her chair, scooping up the device up as she did so. Turning it in her hands she held out the now defunct device, "Want to try?"

"Oh, right." The blonde moved forward, placing her thumb on the device and waiting an agonising few seconds for it to flash green.

"See? It works perfectly" Lena said, triumphantly.

"Yeah…Well, I think I'd better go and write this up." Kara said, through a forced smile, fighting to keep the disappointment and betrayal she felt off her features. Quickly gathering up her things, she strode out of the office without so much as a backwards glance at a rather surprised Lena Luthor.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've made minor POV changes to chapter 5. It may be worthwhile reading that before reading this. Thank you for reading, comments and kudos' are appreciated. There is a deleted scene to this chapter that got cut due to POV editing. Basically a small conversation on the phone between Alex and Maggie. I have posted it as a tiny drabble on tumblr. My account name is the same as it is here without the underscore x

“You wanted to see me boss?” Kara asked, standing in the entrance to Snappers office. She’d turned her copy of her interview with Lena Luthor in over an hour ago with a proud flourish that had shown in no uncertain terms how pleased she had been with it. The article had been a true reflection of the intentions of the CEO and Kara certainly hadn’t let the woman off the hook when it came to her harbouring such anti-alien views. The disappointment she had felt when she had heard those words coming out of Lena’s mouth was almost unbearable. She felt stupid and more than a little embarrassed about her ‘feelings’ for the woman that clearly she had hardly known at all.

Snapper glanced over to her, catching her attention and gestured at her to step into his office. “I’ve read your article on Lena Luthor.” He said, a copy of her article clutched in his hand.

“That was some story, huh?” She asked, waiting with baited breath for his thoughts.

He gave her his patented over-the-glasses frown and started to read aloud from her article. “Lena Luthors’ stated goal is to repair the damage her brother did to the family name, but by branding an alien detection device with the name ‘Luthor’ she has forever tied her companies’ destiny to that of America’s xenophobic right. Although shareholders may delight at such a device, all a concerned citizen can do is despair at the shameless fear-mongering that appeals to none other than this countries’ immigrant-fearing lowest common denominator.”

Kara, beamed. “I was really proud of that sentence.” She said, more to herself than Snapper, who had turned away from her and whilst still clutching her article had started to shuffle through other papers strewn across his desk. After a moment, he turned back around fixing her with a glare.

“What the hell is this, Ponytail? I can’t use this.”

Kara’s smile slipped, “It’s what you wanted.” She insisted. “You wanted Lena Luthor’s take on aliens and there it is. She thinks they should be ID’d like lepers.”

“Look, I’m not questioning the story Miss Danvers, what I am questioning is the clear slant in your reporting. I don’t want your opinion on the news, I just want the facts. Who? What? Why? Where? When?”

Kara’s mouth dropped open. She thought her article had been good, a clear insight to the views held by the CEO and the impact a device like this would have on society.

“So, I shouldn’t report truthfully?” She asked.

Snapper rolled his eyes. “There’s a difference between truthful reporting and bias reporting. This report is stuffed full of your pro-alien views-”

“But,” Kara interrupted, feeling like she was fighting an uphill battle to show her story was worthy of publishing. “Nothing I wrote was inaccurate. That device is bad, objectively bad.”

“That’s for the reader to decide, not you. Rewrite it. And next time keep your personal feelings about the device and Lena Luthor to yourself. The reader doesn’t care how much you dislike her.”

He tore her article up and tossed the pieces her way. Kara watched as they fluttered to the floor, coming to rest near her feet. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of watching her pick them up she turned promptly on her heel and stalked out of his office, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘I miss Cat Grant’.

//

Even a few hours later, the blonde super-hero had yet to calm down from her interaction with the CEO of L Corp. Furthermore, her subsequent altercation with Snapper had only served to pour more fuel on the fire. The keys of her laptop keyboard had taken the brunt of it as her fingers had hammered over them to create the first draft of her article, transforming the thoughts in her head into words that would ensure everyone knew just how similar the Luthor siblings really were. Unfortunately, seeing as Snapper had literally ripped that draft apart and she was now stuck perched on a barstool at her kitchens’ breakfast bar trying to re-write it, the laptop would now have to endure her creating a second draft of an article that had already incensed her enough for one day.

Letting out a low groan, she dropped her head into her hands. She was finding it impossible to keep her writing neutral. Alex had been right, she really should have paid attention to Lena’s last name. Instead, she’d blundered ahead, trying to see the good in Lena and made a fool of herself. Luckily, she hadn’t had a chance to let on to her sister just how interested she was in the Luthor. Not that she herself even knew really. This sudden intense attraction malarkey was all new to her but she knew fine well that her sibling, instead of having any sympathy, would never have let her live it down. _A Luthor and a Super_ , she laughed, understanding now just how incompatible they were, _what was I thinking?_

She was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps on the stairs and moments later, her sister burst into the room, a bustle of shopping bags and two speciality latte’s.

“Hi, Alex.” She greeted.

“Hey.” The red-head called out, placing her bags down haphazardly whilst somehow managing not to spill a drop out of either cup. “I got you a gingerbread latte.”

“Thanks.” Kara murmured gratefully, clasping the warm caffeinated drink in her hands the moment it was placed in front of her. Sure, being a Kryptonian, the caffeine wore off three seconds after consumption but she had to admit she had a small weakness for the sweet, spicy warmth of gingerbread syrup.

Alex scooped her into a one armed-hug, leaning in to place a kiss against the side of Kara’s head. “So, how’s your article coming along?” She asked, her eyes skimming over her sisters’ laptop screen.

“Awfully.” Kara, sighed.

“Er,…there’s no ‘K’ in diabolical.” Alex reached over Kara’s shoulder to point to the error.

The reporter huffed; spelling mistakes were the least of her problems right now.

She corrected the offending letter then turned to face her sister, “I’m really struggling with this Alex. I just can’t stay emotionally neutral on an issue I’m this passionate about.”

“Yeah, I know.” Alex said, hopping up on a stool on the opposite side of the high table. “I love that you’re so passionate about these things. Passion is fantastic for being a super-hero.”

“But not for being a reporter?” Kara questioned, incredulously. How was it that there were no transferrable qualities between saving the world and writing about it?

Alex’s face took on a thoughtful expression as she regarded her sibling and Kara braced herself. Whenever her sister looked as though she were contemplating a paradigm shifting riddle it usually meant she was on the cusp of figuring out _exactly_ what was going on.

“Kara,” she said slowly, “…is it just the device you’re angry about?” Alex’s eyes searched her own and the blonde felt her face start to flush. “Because sweetie, you’re a little too worked up for this to be purely job related. It seems like this is personal.”

“Of course, it’s personal, Alex.” Kara snapped. “I’m an alien. Lena hates aliens. Ergo, Lena hates me and thinks I don’t deserve the same rights as she does.”

“Woah.” The red-head raised her hands in mock-surrender. “That’s not what I was getting at. I just meant…you know what, it doesn’t matter...”

Kara turned away, dropping her gaze, she knew it wasn’t fair to take her disappointment in Lena out on Alex. As much as she loved her sister, she just wasn’t ready to talk about the full extent of her feelings towards the CEO, but that wasn’t Alex’s fault.

She reached over the table for her sisters’ hand, interlocking their fingers. “I’m sorry, I think I’m a little annoyed at myself for refusing to entertain the idea she might be a carbon copy of her family. I believed her you know, when she said she was using her company as a force for good, but it turns out you were right, I should have paid attention to her surname.” _And I most definitely should not have wasted so much time daydreaming about those pretty green eyes of hers._

“Hey.” Alex said softly, giving Kara’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your drive to find the best in people is one of the things I admire the most about you.”

Kara scoffed. There was no way that was true, her sister preferred a strict shoot first, ask questions later policy when it came to potential bad guys. Her disbelief must have shown on her face because the moment Alex’s eyes met hers, the red-head erupted into laughter.

“It’s the truth.” Alex protested, lightheartedly, “I didn’t say it was something I was interested in doing myself, did I?” 

Just as Kara opened her mouth to respond, a shrill tune emanated from the DEO agents cell phone. Alex gestured an apology, swiping at the illuminated screen to answer the call and Kara left her to it, turning back to her laptop and immediately spotting another fury-induced spelling error. Struck with a sudden flash of inspiration for a new start to her article she began to type, taking care not to stuff it full of her ‘pro-alien views’. Minutes later she was vaguely aware of her sister firing off a few rapid sentences as she moved swiftly across the apartments living space.

 “Yeah, okay…” Kara responded, absentmindedly, her mind over-run with squashing down the thoughts of betrayal by her… well, whatever she had wanted Lena to be. Finally, after a few seconds Alex’s words registered and she stopped typing, realising her sister had said something about meeting someone called Maggie. That name was definitely new.

“Wait… who’s Maggie?” She asked, her curiosity piqued. When she received no-response, she looked up from her laptop screen to find that Alex was long gone. _Hmmm_ , she mused, _that was odd._ She’d definitely have to do some digging on that later.

 

//

 

The day the President was due to sign the alien amnesty act into law had finally arrived and to say Kara was excited was a severe understatement. She had bounded into the DEO bright and early, telling anyone who would listen how this day represented a significant point in history until Alex had finally bribed her with a latte and a box of doughnuts in exchange for silence.

After a quick briefing they had all made their way to the gardens outside city hall where in a few minutes the President would sign the bill. Whoever had been responsible for the previous attack on the President still hadn’t been apprehended, although Alex had managed to find out there was a female Infernian in town who had been overheard spouting some anti-amnesty opinions at a bar.

Kara hovered thirty feet in the air above the modest crowd that had gathered to watch the proceedings. Things seemed pretty calm at the moment but she was well aware that could change in an instant. J’onn was stood to one side of the podium and her sister was in the center of the crowd, talking to an NCPD detective. _Wait_ , Kara stopped scanning the crowd and focused on the woman with her sister, _isn’_ _t that the Latina woman from the airport?_ They were chatting amicably, apparently their fight at the airport all forgiven.

The President walked onto the stage and started her speech. Kara listened enraptured while she resumed scanning the crowd. The woman’s words resonated with Supergirl and she couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride that she was a part of this day. The President jokingly asked for a pen to sign the Act with and as she did so a fireball struck the podium.

Kara sprang into action immediately, rushing to put the podium area out before the President got hurt. Spinning round, she spotted the Infernian, a curvaceous woman of average height with flame red hair currently in the process of hurling fireballs at her sister. One made contact, throwing Alex backwards into a water feature. Although obviously concerned for his sisters’ wellbeing, Kara supposed it was quite lucky really as the flames on Alex’s jacket were immediately extinguished.

The NCPD detective moved in to challenge the alien, gun raised, but the Infernian simply used her heat vision to make the metal weapon unholdable. The alien grabbed the officer and twisted violently, shooting an arc of constant flame, catching Kara as she tried to help the detective. By the time Kara had put the flames on her suit out, a strange quiet had settled over the area and neither the Infernian nor the Latina officer were anywhere to be seen. Small flames resembling a broken circle, licked at the ground where both had been. Alex, soaking wet from her encounter with the water, jogged over to Kara, her brow furrowed.

“You ok?” she asked. Supergirl nodded.

Alex glanced around, finally noticing the absence of the detective. “Where’s Maggie?”

 _Oh,_ Kara realised, remembering her sisters dash out of her apartment two days ago, _THAT’_ _S Maggie_. 

//

Across the city at L Corp, Lena sighed and pushed her chair back from her desk, finally giving up on trying to keep her mind focused on her board proposal. Jess had placed the latest copy of Catco magazine on top of Lena’s in-tray over an hour ago and the CEO had promised herself that she could read Kara’s article just as soon as her work was finished.

The trouble was, the moment the glossy paper had come into contact with her desk, her mind had been less inclined to concentrate on product specifications and more interested in what Kara thought of her alien detection device. She knew the interview hadn’t gone well. The way Kara had high-tailed it out of her office had shown Lena she was less than impressed with her device. Clearly the reporter had very pro-alien views, something that Lena couldn’t quite comprehend.

She wasn’t anti-alien by any means but the life experiences gained from growing up in the Luthor household had taught her that hurt and pain can come from places you would least expect. And if your own family can hurt you then was it really such a leap to think the alien next door might too? If she had only learned one thing from her time living with her mother and Lex, it was that you should always find a way to protect yourself and sometimes that meant being prepared and knowing exactly what you were dealing with. Forewarned is forearmed after all.

Lena saw her device as a way to level the playing field, but she knew she hadn’t expressed that properly to Kara. The disappointment and shock that had set up shop on the blondes’ features had told her that. Giving in, she pulled the magazine towards her, expecting the worst.

_Lena Luthor, CEO of L Corp, has given Catco an exclusive preview of her latest technological innovation. The device, small enough to be considered conveniently portable, is able to detect alien DNA through a simple skin test. Results are obtained in a matter of seconds showcasing the efficiency and effectiveness of its design…_

Pleasantly surprised by the first few sentences, she read on, quickly reaching the end of the article, astonished that there were no mentions of the destructive connotations of the Luthor legacy. In fact, there was nothing negative about the device at all. Kara had written a truthful and accurate article, with no judgement on Lena or her family.

Smiling to herself, she pressed the button that would alert Jess to the fact she needed something and sure enough, seconds later, her assistant appeared in the doorway.

“Can I help you, Miss Luthor?”

“Jess, will you please let Kara Danvers know I would like to see her?” Lena asked.

Her assistant nodded, “Of course. Anything else?”

Lena shook her head and Jess gave her a quick thumbs up before disappearing off to contact Kara. Alone once again, the CEO leaned back in her chair, her eyes sliding closed. Maybe she hadn’t irreparably damaged Kara’s opinion of her after all. Unable to stop the grin that she could feel spreading across her mouth, she willfully decided her smile was because she was merely pleased at the possibility of a good working relationship with the reporter. _Something which could do wonders for L-corp_ , she reminded herself. Yes, this rare feeling of warmth was _definitely_ down to that and not because she found the stammering and apparent social awkwardness of the blonde ridiculously likeable.

An unbidden image of the reporter floated to the forefront of her mind, all innocent blue eyes and golden tresses and she had to admit in the privacy of her own thoughts that the woman was cute. It had been a long time since anyone had held her interest long enough to distract Lena from her work but she had a feeling that Kara Danvers might just manage it.

 

//

 

Supergirl paced the length of the control room of the DEO. They’d reconvened here after the second presidential attack to try and come up with a way to both capture the Infernian and get Detective Sawyer back. Alex had disappeared on the way back to the government agency building saying she knew where she might find some information and sure enough had just called to say the Infernian was using the foundry as a hideout. They were waiting for Alex before gearing up and heading out.

Lena Luthor’s assistant had called during the attack and left a voicemail that Kara had picked up once back at the DEO. Apparently, Lena requested that she drop by as soon as was convenient. Kara had to admit that perhaps impatiently waiting for Alex was only half the reason she was pacing up and down. She wondered if Lena had liked her article and regretted how angry she had been at the business woman. Clearly this whole Infernian situation stressed the need for some type of protection against aliens of a similar mindset to the fireball slinger but Kara was determined that any measures taken should not be at the expense of equality.

All things considered, she had probably judged Lena’s opinions too harshly, reacting on instinct rather than rational thought. She was loath to admit it out loud but she was glad Snapper had made her re-write her article. If Lena had read the first draft there was no way she’d speak to Kara again. Any future exclusive interviews that may have been in the pipeline would have been a no-go and Kara had a sneaking suspicion her reporting career would have suffered as a result.

And, obviously there would have been no more access to those captivating emerald eyes that had changed everything. It was pointless really, trying to deny her attraction to the CEO any longer, but accepting it didn’t mean she was ready to do anything about it. Hell, she didn’t even know if Lena liked women and even if she did, Kara had absolutely no clue what to do. The whole situation was too new and too confusing and she couldn’t even deal with it through sister night like she normally would because she just wasn’t ready to say any of it out loud yet. Thankfully, at that moment, Alex appeared, heading up the stairs towards them and Supergirl dismissed her distracting thoughts. There was work to do.

 

//

Lena finally abandoned all pretense of work and glanced at her watch, noting with surprise that it was only half past eight. Technically, if she allowed herself to be ever so slightly liberal with the truth, she could still class that as being early evening. Usually her work had her so engrossed that she rarely tore her eyes away from the glowing light of her computer screen before midnight. Tonight, had been different though. She had found herself to be out of sorts, her fingers not content with performing their routine dance over the keys of her laptop, had instead drummed restlessly on the edge of her desk.

Pushing herself away from her desk, she traversed the few yards of her office before collapsing onto the sofa set against the opposite wall. If all she was going to do with her evening was wait for Kara Danvers, then she could at least be slightly more comfortable as she did so. It wasn’t often she got to use the rather expensive item of furniture but whenever she managed to, she always found herself wishing she was wearing more relaxing clothing. A black pencil skirt accompanied by a pale green Armani blouse and court heels did not a relaxing outfit make. Deciding she could at least shed her shoes until the reporter arrived, she slid them off and tucked her legs up under her. It had been several hours since she had instructed Jess to ask Kara to pop by and she couldn’t shake the niggling thought that perhaps the woman wasn’t coming.

She needn’t have worried however, sure enough forty minutes later there was a timid knock at the door and the CEO scrambled to put her shoes back on before Kara stepped shyly into her office. She was wearing a burgundy cotton dress with matching heels and her hair was half up-half down, golden curls cascading around her shoulders in a slightly more care-free way than the CEO was used to seeing.

“Hi.” The blonde said quietly, slowly approaching where Lena was sitting on the sofa. “I’m sorry for turning up unannounced but I only just got the message you wanted to see me. This afternoon has been crazily busy.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lena said, with a careless wave of her hand. “You’re timing is perfect actually, I’m just taking a little break from this quarters financial reports.”

“Oh, good.” Kara smiled. “I wouldn’t like to impose, I’m sure you have loads of important things to be getting on with.”

It was true, there were several reports lying on the glass desk currently pending Lena’s approval but they could wait. Right now, the only thing she wanted to be doing was talking to the reporter. “I do,” She admitted with a small grimace. “Although I don’t find them anywhere near as interesting as I found your article. You have a natural gift with words, Miss Danvers.”

“Kara.” The blonde corrected firmly, meeting Lena’s gaze. There was a layer of steel present in those eyes that practically dared the CEO to call her by anything but her first name.

“Kara.” Lena acquiesced, a small smirk playing with the corners of her lips. Feisty Kara was almost as adorable as nervous Kara. She leaned forward, breaking the spell and tapped the glossy magazine with her finger. “The article is amazing. I knew you’d make an excellent reporter. Although honestly, I’ve spent most of my afternoon dreading reading this. Once I heard your bleeding-heart pro-alien views, I thought for sure you’d do a hatchet job on me.”

Kara let out a light chuckle and settled herself on the sofa next to Lena. “Oh, I tried.” The blonde admitted, fiddling with her glasses as she turned to look at the CEO, “I wrote a scathing article about you and your device.”

“Oh.” Lena swallowed thickly, trying to keep the disappointment off her face. She supposed it had been too good to be true to think Kara’s article was a genuine reflection of her opinion of her.

“Yeah,” Kara continued, with a small smile. “My boss ripped the first draft apart, both figuratively and literally, I might add. He made me re-do the entire thing but-”

“Well, I guess that explains it then.” Lena interrupted, her heart clenching, as she was painfully reminded of the gaping void between her and the rest of society. Of course, Kara had only written an article that painted L-Corp in a good light because she had been forced to.

The blonde ignored Lena, pressing on. “The funny thing is I’m actually glad he did. I mean not at first, at first I was possibly the most annoyed I’ve been for years, but then some things happened today that have definitely made me re-think my position.”

“What happened today?” Lena asked, curiosity getting the better of her disappointment at Kara’s earlier words.

“Let’s just say, I still think alien amnesty is a good thing… but I admit there are bad aliens out there.”

Lena smiled warmly, relief flooding through her. “I’m glad you can see my point of view. You know when I was first adopted by the Luthors, I absolutely adored Lex. When he showed his true colours I was absolutely crushed. I tried everything to reach him, to bring him back to the side of good, but it was no use. I’d lost him. Finally, I realised that some people are just bad. There’s nothing you can do about it, but you can learn to protect yourself.”

“Yeah, I understand that.” There was a brief silence then Kara clearing her throat and shuffled to the edge of the sofa. “Um, I guess I should go. I’m sure you have a lot to do.”

“No,” Lena protested quickly, placing a hand lightly on the blonde’s arm, surprising herself with the realisation that she really didn’t want to spend yet another evening alone in her office.

“Actually, I’ve given myself the night off. I’ve been spending so much time in this office recently I can’t really remember what my apartment looks like. It’s easy to do when there’s not much else to occupy your time. It’s not like there’s a long line of people wanting to make friends with a Luthor.” She let out a forced, self-deprecating laugh before managing to school her expression into a more neutral mask, hoping Kara hadn’t managed to catch a glimpse of just how lonely she truly was. Not quite sure why she’d opened up like that to a woman she barely knew, she felt her face start to flush and she looked away in an effort to hide her embarrassment, twisting her hands together in her lap.

No such luck. Kara, evidently noticing her discomfort, reached over to cover Lena’s hands with her own. “I think I know someone who might be in that queue.”

“Although,” she continued after a moments’ pause, “I suppose it’s not really a queue if I’m the only one in line is it?”

Lena’s laugh was genuine this time. “No, I wouldn’t think so.” She conceded with a shake of her head. She wanted to ask why on earth Kara wanted to be friends with the likes of her but faltered, losing all concentration as the blonde began tracing her thumb slowly over the back of Lena’s hand.

Green eyes met blue, and for a second, just one tiny second, she thought she could see a glimmer of desire, lurking deep in those azure depths. But of course, she must be mistaken. No one had looked at her that way since…well in a very long time and certainly not since Lex had destroyed their family’s reputation.

With a shake of her head, Lena banished those thoughts from her head. It wouldn’t do to ruin the only offer of friendship she had received in years for a fleeting flash of longing she had sworn had been present in the reporters’ eyes. Her roaming gaze settled on the minibar in the corner of her office and with a jolt she remembered her manners, eagerly welcoming the distraction. “Would you like a drink?” she asked the blonde, trying to avoid staring at the thumb still tracing deliciously slow ellipses on her skin.

Kara grinned, releasing Lena’s hand after a quick squeeze. “I’d like that.”

“Great.” The CEO stood and moved to fix them both a measure of her best scotch whisky using the time to calm the wild fluttering in her chest. Her body, having being devoid of human contact for so long, had ignited like kindling at Kara’s touch. She’d forgotten how consuming a new attraction could be, how responsive the human body could be. And if she was being honest, how much she missed sex. Steadying her hand as she poured the amber liquid, she took a few calming breaths. It was just a few innocent touches that she needed to not get carried away with. Kara must just be one of those touchy-feely people that Lena had never really understood. _She doesn’t need you hitting on her when she’s just being friendly_ , she told herself, heading back to sofa with their drinks.

“So,” She said, handing Kara one of the glasses while easing herself back onto the settee, “You said you had a busy afternoon. What happened?”

After an initial hesitation, Kara launched into the details of her day, explaining that she was following Supergirl and she had been there when the President had been attacked during the signing of the alien amnesty act. As Kara talked, Lena couldn’t help but notice the way the blonde’s eyes lit up whenever she got excited about what she was saying. And the way she repeatedly brought a hand up to fiddle with the black frames of her glasses as she spoke, almost as if she was unaccustomed to them resting on her face. It was completely adorable and despite her earlier pep-talk by the minibar, Lena could feel the wall she had constructed around her heart to keep her safe from being let down ever again, begin to buckle ever so slightly.

Her intercom buzzed and Lena jumped, having completely forgotten that this was the night Jess worked late to catch up on filing and anything else she didn’t have time for during the busy working week.

“Miss Luthor, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Jess’ disembodied voice called from her desk. “There’s a phone call for you from your office in Beijing. I explained you were in a meeting but Mr Wu said it’s extremely important. Shall I put him through?”

Lena scrambled to her feet and marched over to her desk hitting the button on the intercom that allowed her to talk to Jess.

“Yes please, Jess. Could you give me five minutes and then transfer him through?” As she spoke, she watched Kara stand and begin to walk towards the door.

“Of course, Miss Luthor.”

Lena met Kara’s gaze and, in that moment, wanted nothing more than to blow the call off and continue their conversation but she knew she couldn’t. Being a CEO meant something to her and she firmly believed in leading by example, even when it meant her personal life suffered as a result. “I’m sorry, Kara, I’ve got to take this call. I’ve been waiting for an update about one of our new products for weeks.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” The reporter gave her a small wink. “I know how important you are.”

“I’m really not.”

“You are.” Kara insisted and there was that glint of steel in blue eyes again. “Anyway, I’ll let you get on, I think I’ve distracted you long enough. Thanks for the drink and I’m really glad you liked my article. I'll see you later.” The blonde reached the door and made to pull it open with an outstretched hand.

“Kara, wait.” Lena called, grabbing a business card and a pen from her desk before hastily making her way over to the reporter. She scribbled her cell phone number on the back of the card then held it out to the other woman.

“Here, you should have this. You know, just in case you need another interview or something.” Her words were rushed and Lena could feel a flaming heat begin to climb its way up her neck and onto her face.

“Thanks.” Kara said, accepting the card and twirling it in her fingers a few times before stashing it safely in the pocket of her dress. “Er, I guess I’ll call you later then.” Hands travelled around Lena’s shoulder blades, coming to rest in the small of her back as the blonde engulfed her in a quick hug before turning and heading for the elevators.

The ghost of Kara’s hands still lingering on her spine, Lena walked slowly to her desk and sank into her chair. _Another interview or something_ , she chastised, letting out a low groan. This sort of thing was exactly why she hadn’t had a date in years.

 

  


End file.
